Will Racke on June 21, 2018
The Pentagon is supporting the Justice Department’s “zero-tolerance” policy against illegal border crossings by sending military lawyers to the border to help prosecute cases of unlawful entry, according to Trump administration officials.
At least 21 lawyers will be detailed to Arizona, Texas and New Mexico to help with the increased caseload of immigration-related cases, MSNBC reportedWednesday night, citing internal Defense Department communications.
The military lawyers, who are supposed to have “criminal trial experience,” will be designated as full-time special assistant U.S. attorneys during a six-month temporary duty tour. They will be given a crash course in immigration law and federal criminal procedure to assist regular DOJ prosecutors in Yuma, Arizona; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo and McAllen in Texas.
A senior Justice Department official confirmed the temporary deployment of military lawyers — known as Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) — to The Daily Caller News Foundation on Thursday morning.
“The JAGs detailed as SAUSAs will be working to promote and enforce the rule of law at our borders, which is vital to protecting a nation and its citizens,” the official wrote in an email.
The Justice Department first sought applications from military lawyers last month in an effort to fill personnel gaps “while we staff up” with permanent assistant U.S. attorneys, according to Pentagon emails obtained by MSNBC. The request followed Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ April order to U.S. attorneys in border districts to prosecute as many illegal entry cases as possible — even against illegal immigrants traveling with children — as part of the administration’s border enforcement strategy.
The aggressive prosecution strategy has caused a spike in the number of migrant families being separated at the border, since federal law prohibits holding children with their parents in criminal detention facilities. Between May 5 and June 9, more than 2,300 migrant children were separated from family units that were caught crossing the border illegally, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics released Tuesday.
Though family separation has been used by previous administrations, President Donald Trump has come under particularly intense criticism for employing the tactic as part of his broader crackdown on illegal immigration. Left-wing activists and Democratic opponents — as well as some lawmakers in Trump’s own party — have denounced the policy as inhumane and unnecessary.
After several days of outrage, Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring the government to keep families in immigration detention together while the adults are prosecuted. The decision reversed Trump’s previous insistence that Congress alone could address the issue of family separation.
It remains unclear how the order will be interpreted in light of the Flores consent decree, a federal court settlement that prevents the government from detaining migrant families together for more than 20 days. Nor has the administration elaborated on how it will accommodate the expected crush of migrant families that will need to be housed while they go through criminal and asylum proceedings.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement currently has a combined total of just 3,000 beds in two large family detention centers in Texas and a smaller one in Pennsylvania.
Similarly, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the federal agency responsible for housing and caring for unaccompanied alien children, says it has run out of space — the agency already holds 10,000 migrant children in its network of 100 shelters. HHS is currently scouting military bases that could be used as temporary holding facilities.
Send tips to [email protected].
Religious groups became involved with this issue because children were being sent ahead by their parents to get a toe hold in the USA for their own unscrupulous ends. They sent their children at grave peril to drug cartels, sexual slavery etc. without care. The practice whatever the social justification is heinous. More heinous than expelling illegals who are together. That is why we must as a moral priority stop permitting anchor babies. Why is this never mentioned? Liberal churches in need of a cause?
WE THE PEOPLE’ HAVE THE POWER OF OUR VOICES AND VOTES, COME NOV USE YOUR POWER TO VOTE OUT THE ENTIRE LYING, TREASONOUS, CORRUPT DEMOCRAT PARTY TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN AND TO END ALL THE CORRUPTION IN WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT
I heard DOJ Sessions say that he thought that they should do DNA tests on these kids to make sure they belong to the so called parents. Let’s make sure that they aren’t part of a sex scandal.
Put the leeches on planes, and send them back to whatever hellhole they came here from, period.
Hallelujah, thank you Pres. Trump… You are the MAN!
If you come to the US through legal ways, welcome to the US. If you come in any illegal method…Get your self and your “family” back across the border. You are not welcome.
The debacle isn’t over but just beginning. If those military people shoot unarmed civilians, Trump’s presidency will be over.
Who said anything about “shooting unarmed civilians “ Kenneth. These are attorneys going to border states not military troops. I bet your a Democrat & don’t live anywhere near where this is happening so it’s easy for you to be critical. I live 45 miles from the border & crime is a huge problem due to illegal immigrants. Next time don’t spout off when you don’t know what you’re even talking about.
You’re not your.
great news; great job President Trump.
Send them all back. Let them in only by our law.
Send them back like the seventeen year old high school student who came here to escape gang violence in his native Honduras, was sent back to his Honduras and was killed by gang violence? No wonder the US left the UN Human Right’s Commission. Under Trump, the US doesn’t believe in Human Rights.
Kenny, That killing, no where near, cancels out the murders committed by illegals in OUR country.
Making “tent cities” only increases the cost of their care to American taxpayers. Put them on buses and send them home. If they are truly in danger in their country (Honduras), then let Mexico take care of them, since they don’t want to pay for the Wall. The US has done enough for all these countries who thumb their noses at us. Time to stop being everyone’s sugar daddy.
President Trump should order the installation of those “tent cities” immediately, or else put those family groups on buses and take them right back to a border point of entry and make them cross right back into Mexico, with orders to “not come back”, or face long-term imprinsonment.
This is not an attempt to request Asylum. Simply go to this site and you will see, this is an invasion.
https://www.facebook.com/sweetpeablossoms/posts/10216586371599891
Detain them in Mexifornia, Pooragon and Washtheillegalton, and run the wall around those three states. Let them have them, and see how long it is, before they are part of Mexico. Then, bore holes along the border from them to us, and place some charges, to let it fall off into the shark ridden Pacific. Somebody needs to feed the Great “Whites”.
Additional detention centers could be tent cities . Tent cities would probably provide a life style as good or better than to what what the illegals are accustom. The bleeding heart liberals need to start thinking about what is good for the USA
The problem with the bleeding heart liberals is they are no longer US Americans. They have their own ideology and it almost never agrees with what is good for this country. Liberalism IS a mental disorder and is not curable.
Trump needs to send a couple hundred of these people to California. First to investigate our primary that was held on June 5th where our votes are not being counted. Then to prosecute and deport the thousands of illegals crossing our borders here every week. It is time to stand up the the California politicians and Jerry Brown. They do not represent the majority here in California and we are not being protected. Millions of citizens voted for Trump because we expected him to take care of the illegal problem. Here in California nothing is being done.
These high profile liberals need the book thrown at them! This should include fines for millions of dollars, jail time, and on going scrutiny, charged with Domestic Terrorist acts and rhetoric!
10,000 UNACCOMPANIED children already housed?????? Find out where they came from and ship them back to that country.
In current situation, the NEXT claim by adults being prosecuted will be the kids do NOT belong to them – that they were just “helping” someone unable to make the trip by claiming the kids. Libturds will beech and moan that those children need to be housed by US. That needs to be rejected outright.
We ALREADY have Anti-American enemies of our country living with us! They’re called Democrats, but they are REALLY Socialist, Marxists, bent on DESTROYING TRUE AMERICAN VALUES. They are so stupid that they have the BORG MIND, group think, of following the high profile, so called, “elite” Marxists, like Peter Fonda, to make our country into Venezuela, for THEM, the average followers! Do you think the Marxists like Peter Fonda are going to want to live themselves like Venezuela? NO! They will continue with a life style commiserate to full capitalists! Or like the dictators in Cuba, Venezuela, and other countries. But the idiots who fell for their elitist ploys to destroy the country, will be living like pigs in a communist trough! Laziness, self pity, self victimization, virtue signaling, when there’s nothing for them to feel virtuous about, are the ridiculous values that they REALLY possess. These are flies for the fodder. They will keep coming, until they come to the realization that SOCIALISM JUST DOESN’T WORK AND NEVER HAS! They have once again, swallowed the elitist plot to gain world control. Too stupid and blind to get out of their own way….what a pity and shame to them.
Build the wall and don’t let them on American soil…use deadly force…
Ya know, Richard, the border patrol agents have already identified the trails they use for illegal entry – mostly by all the trash they leave behind. Lay some anti-personnel mines along those trails. Then notify them all “illegal trails” wi8ll be so mined. Will take only a couple of invaders being blown up to put a stop to entry.
@David,
The use of mines isn’t even close to being a realistic means of deterrent from entering the U.S. I’m pretty sure the utilization of them is even prohibited by the Geneva Convention. There is already an uproar of separating children from their families. Imagine separating the arms and legs of just one child and you may want to retract your statement. Aggression and/or Violence should always be the very last means of resolution in a dispute and the illegal immigration matter is a long way from necessitating that. Sending JAGs to the borders is proper at this point in time and it clearly reflects the proper civil manner in which a country such as the U.S. should operate. This is a very complex problem with no immediate solutions. The media is outdoing itself in pointing fingers of blame which is pathetic. Perhaps it’s time to suggest sanctions on those countries who facilitate the illegal crossings of their citizens. I’ve heard nothing of that manner yet. Our government gets chided left and right for attempting to do anything, while the governments of those countries from which illegals originate actually facilitate these crimes of illegal entry. What’s wrong with that picture? In addition, parents need to be better educated in their schools if existing to respect the laws of other nations, while knowing that there are consequences when violating them. I certainly wouldn’t enter Iran, for example knowing the consequences…..not that I’d want to go there in the first place, but just using it as an example. If you need to point fingers, point them at those who fail to use some common sense first. Those would be the humans who choose to become criminals by the law of the land of the U.S. So, why don’t we see any police/military personnel in Mexico attempting to prohibit illegal entry across the U.S. border? Well, that government has no consequence in not doing so. That would work a lot better than lining the border with mines!
Still, natural entities that just happen to exist in the Rio Grande, uh like….alligators, crocodiles, could very well determine the decisions of people to cross the border….
Chuck Schumer was interviewed yesterday by CNN. Here are his exact worlds…..”Senator Schumer has instructed fellow Democrats not to pass any legislation that could possibly help the children at the border, stating that “It will help voter turnout in the midterms” and that CNN had agreed to help the Democrats with the story line”.
Chuckie is EVIL !
Schumer is beyond evil, it’s been reported he’s a pedophile too.
good news…
All of these ridiculous laws were passed by liberals in order to keep the illegals flooding in. The laws were intricately intertwined in order to tie the hands of law enforcement, and keep the illegals here so that they could enhance the voting block for the libs. If the libs would expend as much energy on working to fix the problems they’ve created, we wouldn’t have the mess in this country that we’re currently seeing.
Good actions Mr. President.
By God, Trump is in a damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t position. I doubt there is a person with children or who remembers their own childhood who wants to detain children in the absence of the child’s parents. The Adults have created this situation and with the help of Soros and his minions and million$ has helped it along. I have no doubt every liberal who has pushed this situation to the point where Trump has decided the rule of law may not survive thinks the US will be better off with open borders. Populations of illiterate or poorly schooled are easily controlled with emotions. I have lived in those countries, Philippines, South Africa, Madagascar and only strict adherence to the rule of law has prevented anarchy.
By sending in scads of JAGs, Trump may forestall the situation of a complete border over-run by the unruly hordes from Mexico, Pakistan, Palestine, etc. But ultimately weapons of destruction (aren’t all weapons weapons of destruction?) will be used and the border will be demolished and Mexico and the US will be one nation under a dictator or the Mafia or Sorosians or multiple dictators. It will not be a country of laws…not that ours is anymore, anyway.
Before then, I think everybody who thinks all people from all places with and without their kids should become members of our society must be allowed to have those selfsame people in their own homes and the rich (relatively speaking that is all of us “native” Americans) must support them, school them and interculturate them. You will have to teach them to use toilets, cleanliness, English, rules of law and why we have them, etc.
Good luck with all that.
Trump caved to the bullying of the Liberals. Sad.